Posts Tagged ‘what happens when you don’t get enough sleep’

Energy is vitality—and vitality is the stuff that powers the projection of your personal energy. It is far easier to present your best self when you are well rested and your skin, hair, teeth, nails and figure are in their optimum state. When these are not maintained, your attention first and foremost, naturally goes to how tired you feel, or your hangnails, unruly hair, dry skin…

Presenting your most authentic and attractive self to the world on a daily basis takes a certain persistence. And it is hard to persist at anything other than seeking relief when you feel tired or unhealthy. Looking, acting and feeling your most handsome or beautiful takes sleep, and enough of it.

While I know you've felt the drastic difference between getting too little of it and just the right amount, here are some additional nuggets of information on sleep to help goad you to do whatever you can to phase out the time robbers in your life and get a good's night sleep:

Sleep deprivation magnifies the effect of alcohol, so if you are tired expect to feel a lot more blitzed than usual when intaking the same amount of alcohol.

You will stress out faster and more intensely if you've not had enough sleep, and everyone knows that the gritted-teeth look is not your best.

Studies have reported an association between insufficient sleep and high blood pressure (see the previous point).

The amount of sleep a person gets influences the symptoms of mental disorders, so blame your tantrum on lack of sleep.

Studies suggest that not sleeping enough has a negative effect on the immune system. For example, while rats normally live for two to three years, those deprived of REM sleep survive only about 5 weeks on average. Those rats deprived of all sleep stages live only about 3 weeks. Also, the sleep-deprived rats developed abnormally low body temperatures and sores on their tail and paws.

Positive sleep byproducts include the following:

You'll get an A in math, gym and remember everything. Lack of sleep leads to impaired memory, physical performance and reduced ability to carry out math calculations.

Sleeping deeply will make you look better. Many of the body's cells show increased production and reduced breakdown of proteins during deep sleep. Since proteins are the building blocks needed for cell growth and for repair of damage from factors like stress and ultraviolet rays.

You'll feel and behave better. Activity in parts of the brain that control emotions, decision-making processes, and social interactions is drastically reduced during deep sleep, suggesting that this type of sleep may help people maintain optimal emotional and social functioning while they are awake.

For most adults, 7 to 8 hours a night appears to be the best amount of sleep, although some people may need as few as 5 hours or as many as 10 hours of sleep each day. Women in the first 3 months of pregnancy often need several more hours of sleep than usual.

Note that getting too little sleep creates a "sleep debt," which is much like being overdrawn on a credit card. Sleep is not an area where our bodies learn how to adapt; eventually, your body and mind will insist that you pay it back with some pillow time.

-Source: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health